• issuance of visas; • residence and work permits and family reunification; and • acquisition and revocation of citizenship. Why principles of equality and non-discrimination are essential to international human rights law and to combating terrorism effectively Protection against discrimination is the cornerstone of the commitment to equal treatment in international human rights law. The following is a brief analysis of how human rights law strives to guarantee equal treatment. One of the main concerns for courts and tribunals in relation to human rights and countering terrorism is the discriminatory nature of some of the measures adopted. For example, a key plank of the UK strategy to combat terrorism was held to be discriminatory by the UK’s highest courts. Not only was there the human cost of policies that violate human rights, but also the UK Government was obliged to redesign its counter-terrorism programme to ensure that it was human rights compliant and effective.197 How is non-discrimination protected by international human rights law? The first article of the United Nations Charter states that one of the purposes of the United Nations is “[…] promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”198 The International Court of Justice has made it clear that “to enforce distinctions, exclusions, restrictions and limitations exclusively based on grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origins […] is a flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the [UN] Charter.”199 With regard to racism, that Court has held that one of the fundamental norms of international law binding on all states includes protection from racial discrimination.200 Different approaches to protecting against discrimination All human rights treaties include a non-discrimination clause, as do most domestic constitutional frameworks. Similarly at the national level, there are often comprehensive laws forbidding discrimination. However, there are various ways of seeking to ensure non-discrimination. Some of these are more effective than others. For example, all human rights treaties provide for consistency or formal equality in treatment by prohibiting unjustified differential treatment, which is known as “direct discrimination.” Others also impose an obligation on states to secure substantive equality by, in particular, prohibiting unjustified conditions, which, while neutral in appearance, disadvantage certain protected groups.201 Such unjustified conditions are known as “indirect discrimination.” The non-discrimination guarantee in 197 United Kingdom House of Lords, A and Others, [2004] UKHL 56. 198 United Nations Charter, Article 1. 199 ICJ, Legal consequences for States of the continued presence of South Africa in Namibia (South-West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970), Advisory Opinion of 21 June 1971, para. 57. 200 ICJ, Case concerning the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company Co. Ltd, (Belgium v. Spain), (second phase), Judgment of 5 February 1970, in “ICJ Reports” 1970, p. 3. 201 S. Fredman, (Ed.), Discrimination and Human Rights: the Case of Racism (Oxford, 2001), page 24. 82 Countering Terrorism, Protecting Human Rights